To Howard Kneller,
Having read your article on the Esoteric Grandioso G1 master clock generator, I am hoping you can help me with a couple of questions about issues I am facing with my equipment.
I have the following devices: Esoteric K-01Xs SACD/CD player, Esoteric G-02X master clock, dCS Network Bridge streamer, and Roon Nucleus+ music server. My issue is when I stream music from the Roon to the dCS. I have set up Tidal, Qobuz, and my own NAS as music sources, and one track may be at 44.1kHz, followed by one at 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz, DSD, and so on. The dCS only accepts two clock inputs (44.1kHz and 48kHz). It auto-switches between these two inputs if a clock signal is present for the given sampling rate, otherwise it uses its own built-in clock.
While the manual for the G-02X states that separate frequencies can be generated, I have not been able to configure it do this at the same time. The output is either 44.1kHz or 48kHz and must be switched manually. Do you know if the G-02X can be configured to supply 44.1kHz on A or A1 and 48kHz on A2 or B? My ideal setup would be to supply 44.1kHz and 48kHz to the dCS at the same time and 10MHz to the K-01Xs.
Assuming that there is no way to get the G-02X to output dual frequencies, what is the next best setup? For instance, should I configure the dCS so it is not clocked by the G-02X and allow it to use its own internal clocks that auto-switch based on sample rate? The K-01Xs is clocked at 10MHz from the G-02X. Clocking at 10MHz, will that sync to all possible sample rates? Which 10MHz signal output is better, TTL or sine wave?
I’ve tried to incorporate the dCS in a few different configurations, but I always seem to end up with a cyclical noise being generated. Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
The rest of my audio system comprises Wilson Audio Sasha DAW loudspeakers, a Spectral Audio DMC-30SV preamplifier, and a Spectral DMA-300SV power amplifier, with MIT Level 1 cabling throughout. The only analog piece is my antique Nakamichi Dragon cassette deck, which sonically holds its own pretty well. No vinyl, because that was all incinerated, along with everything we owned (including MBL 101 and Snell Acoustics Type A Reference speakers) in the Camp Fire wildfire in Paradise, California, on Nov. 8, 2018. With the loss of 40+ years of collecting vinyl, I decided to go all-digital.
Best regards,
Tracy Petit
United States
Thanks for writing to me. You certainly have some fantastic gear -- I am sorry to hear about the loss of your previous stereo system in the California fires.
The G-02X clock can only output one frequency at a time because it has a single internal oscillator. Each output of the G-02X can be set independently and must be switched manually. I double-checked this with Esoteric’s North American distributor, and he in turn double-checked with Esoteric, who confirmed this information. With regard to how you should proceed from here, that really depends on the level of convenience you want and your impressions of the sound quality achieved by the various options available. We can discuss this further by e-mail if you like as it gets a bit too complex to describe in detail in this forum.
I hope this helps even if it’s not the answer that you were hoping for. . . . Howard Kneller
